My recent post about barrel maintenance has me thinking about barrels more generally. Barrel purchases are our second largest annual cost, right after the grapes themselves. All of our wine ages in oak barrels. We do not, however, want oak characteristics to overpower the fruit, so we use a mix of new and used barrels. We aim for around 15 [...]
03
Jul
2009
Sulfuring barrels
Winter is the quiet season for winemaking. The fermentations are finished, and the new wines are resting in barrel. Once the weather starts warming up, the wines will spontaneously go through malolactic fermentation, but for now they just rest. Our main task in the winter is to top up the barrels as the wines slowly [...]
06
Apr
2009
Moving wine offsite
Saturday we moved most of the 2008 vintage to Viña San Esteban, where it will be stored in barrel until blending and bottling in about six months. The 2008 vintage was our largest to date, and we are planning to make about the same amount this year. We just don’t have the space for that [...]